NEW YORK: US natural gas futures fell about 3percent to a seven-month low on Wednesday, following an 18percent drop in oil futures after US President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire in the war with Iran.
Front-month gas futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 9.6 cents, or 3.3percent, to USD2.774 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), putting the contract on track for its lowest close since August 26.
In the cash market, average prices at the Waha Hub in West Texas remained in negative territory for a record 43 days in a row as pipeline constraints continued to trap gas in the Permian region, the nation’s biggest oil-producing shale basin.
Daily Waha prices first averaged below zero in 2019. They did so 17 times in 2019, six times in 2020, once in 2023, 49 times in 2024, 39 times in 2025, and a record 52 times so far this year.
Waha prices have averaged a negative USD1.32 per mmBtu so far in 2026, compared with a positive USD1.15 in 2025 and a positive USD2.88 over the past five years (2021-2025).
Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the US Lower 48 states rose to 111.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in April, up from 110.4 bcfd in March. That compares with a monthly record high of 110.7 bcfd in December 2025.
Analysts projected that mostly mild weather so far this spring has allowed energy firms to inject more gas into storage than usual, boosting inventories to a forecast 5percent above normal levels during the week ended April 3, up from 3percent above normal during the week ended March 27.
Meteorologists forecast the weather will remain mostly warmer than normal through April 23, keeping both heating and cooling demand low.
LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would fall from 108.1 bcfd this week to 101.5 bcfd next week. The forecast for this week was higher than LSEG’s outlook on Tuesday.
Average gas flows to the nine big US LNG export plants rose to 18.9 bcfd so far in April, up from 18.6 bcfd in March. That compares with a monthly record high of 18.7 bcfd in February.
The US became the world’s biggest LNG exporter in 2023, surpassing Australia and Qatar, as surging global prices fed demand for more low-cost US gas. Global gas prices have spiked in recent years due primarily to supply disruptions linked to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the 2026 war in Iran.
In response to US and Israeli bombings, Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz and attacked Qatar’s LNG export facilities, knocking out about 10 bcfd or around 20percent of the world’s LNG supplies.